True healing comes from within. The body is masterful at healing; we often have to simply get out of the way and allow the body to heal itself. This entails removing stressors that prevent healing: toxins such as environmental pollutants, plastics, chemicals in hygiene products, cleaning products, destructive thoughts and relationships, toxic foods such as sugars, rancid fats, and chemical additives. Such stressors block the body's ability to carry on a fluid exchange of metabolites and energy.

When we remove toxins and provide support to the system through healthy recovery time, whole nourishing foods, clean water, healthy and varied functional movement, positive thoughts and relationships, healing power is accelerated. It is remarkable to see how quickly aches, brain fog, depression, rigidity, and pain can dissipate when one commits fully to supporting themselves through healthy lifestyle habits. A transformation from an overstressed, broken system into an agile, springy one, with clarity of focus, vibrant energy and vitality is an invaluable gift.

Enduring change happens when one takes ownership of the challenge before them and determines to create the change from within.

In April I will be introducing a series of workshops at Malibu Fitness, First Aid for the Body, providing self care tools to optimize tissue repair and performance, release stuck stress, rehydrate connective tissues and upregulate the nervous system.

Saturday, April 25; 12-1pm at Malibu Fitness; Regenerate with the VYPER; Rolling and Vibration.

Do you work out intensely and feel sore? Do you avoid working out because of pain?

Come learn quick, effective techniques to enhance dynamic mobility, core control and reduce pain, stiffness and inflammation with the VYPER vibrating foam roller. The healing modalities of compression/tension and vibration combine to restore tissues to supple dynamic states, circulation, lymphatic flow, and upregulate proprioception. Self care techniques cause lasting change because the mind and body are invested together. The brain and nervous system control tension patterns in the body; through dynamic mobility (controlled range of motion) work we can reset the programs to healthy balanced states.

Spots and equipment are limited; please contact me for details and to reserve your spot.

As we strive to excel in our physical performance, our drive often leads us to ignore signals of pain. Yet, pain is a highly instructive experience, and can lead us to understand so much more about our bodies if we learn to listen. The body's innate wisdom must be respected. Gray Cook eloquently describes the importance of heeding these signals; "The presence of pain in the movement matrix changes the rules of fitness and rehabilitative exercise. Because of pain, we cannot use physiological principles to attack movement dysfunction, nor can we rely on consistent outcomes of strength, endurance, and flexibility. Pain changes the way we move. It is unpredictable and highly individualized. We do not know how a body will move when pain dictates the movement; we just know it is altered from situations that are pain free... Pain is a warning sign. Long before pain represents a chronic problem, it can alert us to poor alignment, overuse, imbalance and inflammation... We embrace all other warning signs in our lives - a computer virus alert, the oil light on the dashboard- but when it comes to the body we act as if the warning sign of pain is an inconvenience. If we ignore pain's natural self limiting nature, we are ignorant of the lessons its ancient design provides."

Have you experienced the frustration of chronic strain or tension in specific areas of your body? Despite attempts to strengthen and mobilize associated areas, does the tension continue? In search of answers, I investigated an interesting approach, the Strain Counterstrain technique, through the work of Gadi Kauffman. Gadi's approach is gentle and effective; no agressive stretching, or deep tissue work. Instead, the work respects the intelligence of the body's intricate balance of tension through the neuromusculoskeletal system. I asked Gadi to articulate the essence of the work, and this is his reply;

"This technique has been around since 1955 after it was found and developed by a physician named Dr. Jones D.O.

To me, the process of releasing a muscle spasm is no different than when we switch on and off a computer. In both cases we manipulate electrical currents. The difference is that in the body these electrical currents are called reflexes. In order to release a muscle that’s locked in spasm, you need to break the continuous hyperactivity of these reflexes (electric signals) between muscles and the autonomic nervous system. The Strain Counterstrain technique is specifically designed to accomplish this by switching off the alpha signals (which are signs of distress) from the spastic muscle, so the autonomic nervous system will stop sending the gamma signals (which is the spasm). When the signals stop, (when alpha signals stop, the gamma signals will stop too) the spasm will release. As a result, the muscle fibers will release their pressure on blood vessels, improving blood circulation, which means more oxygen and nutrition to the muscle cells, and more efficient removal of waste products, such as lactic acid, out of the muscle. This allows the healing process to begin.

The technique is deceptively simple in that it involves putting your body into specific positions that are designed to do one thing: to literally slacken the muscle that is locked in spasm. Think of it this way: every muscle has two ends that are attached to bones (the origin and insertion points). By moving these two ends closer to each other, the muscle will relax and shorten, taking the tension off and loosening it. Once the muscle is in this comfortable position, it stops sending the alpha signals (those distress signals) to the autonomic nervous system. In turn, the nervous system stops sending back the gamma signals (the "stay in spasm" signals). With the cycle of distress signals interrupted, the muscle is released from the spasm and you can find some relief from pain.

This unique technique is not only able to release muscle spasm, but has whole body affect. It will also switch the mode of the autonomic nervous system from “fight and flight “to relaxation. In addition it will reboot the nervous system, by creating new neuropathways for the signals to flow, and not using the old ones which cause the painful symptoms again.

“The nervous system is the boss! The muscles are the employees ".(Gadi Kauffman)

Gadi has an ibook available for self practice, and is available for private sessions in Santa Monica, CA. Highly recommended.

While High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been widely accepted by athletes as a means to boost performance and lower body fat, studies have now revealed that it is also highly advantageous to those with chronic disease. Far more efficient, enjoyable and health promoting than long bouts of aerobic exercise, HIIT involves cycling through periods of all out intensity for a brief period of time such as 30-60 seconds, followed by a comparable period of moderate activity, for a total of about twenty minutes. The activity might include cycling, running, jumping, climbing, swimming, weight lifting, dancing, etc; the more variety, the better. Individuals should be cleared for vigorous activity by a medical practitioner before embarking on an HIIT program.

I often here people expressing a desire to be more "flexible", when upon further inquiry, I learn that what thy are truly seeking is more "mobility". While this may seem like a case semantics, it underlines a key concept in strategies used to optimize one's movement potential. One's ability to move through a healthy range of motion depends on four parameters; soft tissue extensibility ("flexibility"), joint alignment, neuromuscular control, and strength. If a person is seeking a greater range of motion, and is only using stretching to increase flexiblity, not only are they approaching a small part of the mobility picture, but they may be doing more harm than good. The body always strives for a balance of tensile forces; a dynamic equilibrium between mobility and stability. If the body senses instability (ie an impinged joint, an overstretched tendon), it will send messages for tissues to tighten in response, to protect itself. If one attempts to release the tension by stretching, the body senses the resultant laxity of tissues and signals for them to tighten up even more. Thus, if you are striving to release ongoing tension somewhere in your body by stretching, and the tension prevails, stop! Instead, investigate why the tension is there; is the involved joint impinged? Is there a neuromuscular control misfire? Is there a strength imbalance? The body is extremely intelligent and ongoing tension is a strong clue that the body is trying to protect itself because you are moving in an imbalanced way. Listening to your body's signals and investigating the prime source of imbalance will lead to optimal healing, and performance. This podcast by Dr. Gray Cook, physical therapist and leader in human performance research, outlines these concepts with clear precision. Enjoy learning about optimizing your mobility.

Kobe Bryant trusts the power to the Vyper to enhance recovery. The Vyper brings the science of compression and vibration technology together in one tool. The result→Optimal Recovery, Injury Prevention and Enhanced Healing!

•Proprioceptive facilitation leads to faster reaction time, accuracy and efficiency of movement

•Vibration technology has been observed to increase muscle strength, bone density, balance, mobility, serotonin levels, and to decrease pain, stiffness, and even cellulite

•Engineered to deliver high intensity and high frequency vibration into the body in 3 speed settings

•Eco-friendly, German-made outer shell transfers maximum vibration

•Rechargeable lithium ion batteries give over 2 hours of use per charge

Keeping the body's soft tissue (muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia) loose is essential for maintaining flexibility and range of motion. While foam rollers can help the body stay loose, adding vibration with the intensity and frequency of The VYPER takes the whole experience to another level. The VYPER is used by some of the world's best athletes. It can be used by anyone who wants to move and feel better.

Can you imagine being a solar powered individual, deriving all your energy from the sunrise or sunset? Never needing to eat? As wild as it sounds, one individual, Mira Hanek, has been doing so since 1995, with great health success, and he lectures around the world on the power of Sun Gazing to heal the mind, body and spirit. Hanek's beliefs center on the direct connection of the eye to the hypothalamus and pineal gland, an endocrine organ which produces melatonin. Dr. Mercola explains; "HRM believes that the light energy you take in while sun gazing activates your dormant pineal gland, which then turns your “brainuter” on. It is this activation that causes you to experience the magical conversion of sun energy into nutrition, healing of disease, heightened energy, increased psychic abilities and, ultimately, enlightenment." (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/01/08/feasting-on-sunshine.aspx).

The process is simple; gently gazing at the sun in the rising or setting state (not mid day times) for a maximum of 10 seconds to start, and gradually increasing the time by 10 seconds for a period of several months. After three months, improvements in health and well being have been documented. Hanek describes the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of sun gazing, drinking sun charged water (leave your water in a glass container out in the sun to "charge" it), and walking barefoot in the dirt (also known as Grounding; beach sand is the best!). While the exact health mechanisms are not understood, we all know the rejuvenating feeling of a barefoot walk on the beach, gazing at the sunset. And the profound effect this has on healing. I am curious to know of any Malibu Sun Gazer experiences in optimizing health...Enjoy the glorious sunrise and sunset.

On my personal quest to unravel the mysteries of myofascial tension patterns, I have been learning how pivotal jaw alignment is, in not only biomechanical health, but in preventing inflammation and disease. Because of the location of the jaw, beside cranial nerves and the top of the spinal column, any malignment in one's bite can have far reaching effects on the nervous system, and hence, on overall health. In addition to muskuloskeletal imbalances extending through the spine and limbs, (cases of intense knee pain have been observed to subside with correction of bite alignment) bite dysfunction creates chronic stress on the body, raising the nervous system to a state of flight or flight, and elevations in Substance P, heightening inflammation and impediing healing. Speech defects, oculomotor imbalances, eyelid droop, and anxiety have also been observed. Dave Asprey's Bullet Proof Radio recently highlighted this in an interview with Dwight Jennings, a dentist and specialist in dental orthopedics (https://www.bulletproofexec.com/dr-dwight-jennings-tmj-jaw-pain-substance-p-179/).

This is an area not often explored when addressing imbalances in the body, and yet, it is critical. My personal experience in correcting my life long habit of teeth grinding, and aligning my jaw with the guidance of local experts Dr. Bob Perkins, D.D.S, and Joy Moeller, a myfunctional therapist, is leading me to unravel chronic tension patterns in my body from head to toe. The effects of jaw tension are extensive; the good news is, so are the benefits of correcting it! If you experience jaw tension, consider seeking out a neuromuscular dentist or a myofunctional therapist to help you. In the interview cited above, several resources are made available, including the I.C.C.M.O. A relaxed and well aligned jaw is key to overal health and well being.

Haivng listened to another great interview with Mary Bond, I am inspired to share the information; Mary studied with Ida Rolf, and is leader in the field of balancing the body from within. Mary eloquently differentiates between support and stabilization and how this affects the way we inhabit our bodies. Support is received from the environment; if we trust our environment and feel supported, we may release tension and arrive at a sense of relaxation. Stabilization is generated from within, and demands internal tension, in essence to protect oneself. While healthy levels of tension are required for movement, too much tension will block movement and create compression in the joints. For example, the way we perceive our environment will determine the flow of our walk; from a relaxed fluid spiraling motion, to a rigid side to side type of gait. The tension we hold in our eyes and jaw directly relates to the tension we experience in our spine. If you spend hours in front of a computer screen or have experienced stress/trauma to your head or neck, you will benefit from this simple, quick exercise by master teacher, Mary Bond. This video oulines how freeing movement at the junction of the head and neck liberates movement throughout the spine. Small changes in how we perceive, navigate, and respond to our environment can have profound effects on the organization of our bodies, and thus how we move and feel. Enjoy the freedom! http://healyourposture.com/2013/08/free-your-head/

What drives me: Inspiring people to be their personal best every day; guiding them to those "aha" moments, when the light goes on, and they accelerate towards personal goals. I aim to provide excellence in guiding people to heal themselves through movement--pilates and functional training--, to optimize human potential through movement, and to be a leader in educating and inspiring the public about health and wellness. My experience as a student at UCSF Medical School taught me a wealth of information about assessing states of health with great respect to the complex interconnected systems of the body and mind. My life as a professional dancer has allowed me to gain tremendous insight from my own body’s experience as a laboratory of injury and repair. My continuing education through pilates, personal training, the Gray Institute, and other functional medicine paradigms, add to the resources I bring when approaching each individual client. I have tremendous respect for the body’s ability to heal and restore homeostasis, or balance. I aim to guide people through a positive, pain free movement experience that is revitalizing, healing, empowering, and which advances the body's healing power, strength, mobility and overall performance; to help people get "unstuck" from a spiral of "dis-ease" and propel them forward to an optimal healthy, vital state of well being; to guide people to realize that even in the presence of injuries, or illness, we can move ourselves to optimal health, and live in a state of fitness, with lean, strong bodies and vibrant, strong minds, aligned and well. I aim to guide people to understand there are alternatives to surgery and/or medications and that efficient movement -- together with strategic nutrition, and positive lifestyle changes,--heals the body; to promote the philosophy that we can up regulate expression of the body's DNA, hormones, and biochemistry—the body’s intrinsic healing system-- on a deep cellular level, leading to enduring and profound advancements in health and, therefore, function.
And I just love seeing people light up with the joy of movement!!